Cleveland Browns should sign a veteran linebacker based on history

One position the Cleveland Browns will be looking to improve is linebacker. While many want the Browns to spend big money or their first-round pick on the position, others want to try and spend as little on the position as possible and load up in the secondary and defensive line.

While I understand that linebacker may not be the most important position on the field, it is one that the Browns were lacking severely in 2020. And while it may not make sense to sign a high-dollar free agent to a long-term deal, something must be done.

After last season it appears that Berry will have the same strategy once again in 2021. Wait for a good deal at the position to fall in his lap, and then draft a linebacker in the third or fourth round of the draft. While that is a bit frustrating for some, it appears to be the best recipe for success.

History doesn’t always repeat itself, but there’s a strong past that suggests bringing in a linebacker for just one year could be very successful for the Cleveland Browns. See the last four short-time linebackers that made major impacts for the Browns.

4.  Marty Moore – Linebacker, 2000

The first Mr. Irrelevant (the last player picked in the NFL Draft) to ever win a Super Bowl was Marty Moore with the New England Patriots. Moore played eight total seasons in the NFL, of which seven were with the Patriots and one with the Cleveland Browns.

In seven seasons with the Patriots, Moore had 83 tackles and started 10 games. In just one year with the Browns, Moore played in all 16 games of which he started 10 and had 90 tackles to go along with a sack and an interception.

This was only the Browns’ second-year back in the league, so part of this may have been a good stat line for a guy on a bad team, but there is no doubt he was a force in his one year in Cleveland. In Moore’s one season in Cleveland, only one player had more tackles than him.